Summary

Peachum, Mrs. Peachum, Polly, Lucy, the prostitutes, the thugs and a priest come in. Peachum speaks with pompous regret that the occasion of his first meeting with his son-in-law is in such awkward circumstances. Macheath comments on how pretty Polly looks. The thugs reveal that they couldn't get through the crowd to get the money, and the rest of the gang sends their best wishes. Mrs. Peachum wonders aloud who would have expected this outcome when she, Polly and Macheath first met. Brown recalls his first meeting with Macheath when they were both soldiers. Jenny talks about how desperately upset all the prostitutes are. Then the bells chime the hour of six, the hour of Macheath's execution.

Macheath says the party shouldn't keep the public waiting, and then he speaks about himself as a representative of a group of disadvantaged artists being destroyed by large corporations...